Smart spaces & places

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Beyond the Workplace is taking to the streets!

Jul 17, 2014

Beyond the Workplace is designed to be different and disruptive, and our first event in London next week will embody this. When it comes to the changing nature of work and workplaces, central to what we wish to achieve is drawing the multitude of little voices into one big voice that cannot be ignored.

So, next Thursday we are holding our first open event- with a difference. There is no agenda, no meeting room, no chair and the venue is the streets around Trafalgar Square! Thanks to the generosity of David Pearl and his partners, Beyond the Workplace has secured access to use their Street Wisdom methodology as a means to help us get to the core of how best to positively adapt to the changing nature of work.

It’s been really interesting to see how this event has come about and thanks must go to David D’Souza for taking the helm on this. Have a look at his recent blog which talks about using Street Wisdom. For me, it’s all about the simplicity of the approach and how a few people with passion can really achieve quite a lot. Thanks in part to the nurturing support of our founding partners BIFM and CIPD, this event is taking shape in a matter of weeks at minimum fuss and expense.

This is the first of a series of events, some conventional and some not, that we have in the pipeline for the rest of the year. Our aim is to engage as widely as possible with anyone interested in this field. There are no restrictions; everyone is welcome! Over the coming months we intend to roll out the Street Wisdom model across the UK and possibly overseas. Look out for an event in Sheffield in September, for example. In addition, we are going to encourage those ensconced in their professional groups to go out and meet one another and to start the process of breaking down silos. We also intend to leverage our social media capabilities to use it as a continuous communications conduit to keep discussion alive and evolving.

This Big Conversation is an unusual approach and deliberately so. For far too long we, comfortable in our respective silos of professionalism, have debated amongst ourselves as to what to do about the challenges of the future. Those of us engaged in the task of supporting and enabling work need to build a joint understanding of the megatrends affecting us all. In convening this initiative to build a bridge of understanding between people and place, we aim to:

“Educate”the people and place community and beyond by raising awareness of the megatrends affecting and changing the nature of work and where work is done

“Bring together” a movement of fellow travellers, with open access to everyone on an equal footing.

“Generate” positive ideas and innovative responses from the community to benefit organisations, employees and society at large.

“Co-create” opportunities for collaborative working: a veritable one stop shop for those dealing with the change agenda inside the organisation.

“Act Upon” the ideas and opportunities sourced and assessed from the ‘Big Conversation’ to deliver positive change in the workplace

Next week we will take to the streets to ask for help to address the key questions that we need to discuss in the Big Conversation.